Thursday, 7 September 2017

Ministry of Justice written question – answered on 7th
September 2017.

Mark
Hendrick Labour/Co-operative, Preston

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many
British sign language court interpreters are available in each region in England.

Dominic Raab
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice

The provision of British Sign Language interpreters
to the Ministry of Justice has been provided by Clarion UK Ltd since 31st
October 2016.

The current number of interpreters available for
use by Clarion under this contract is 353. The table below sets out a notional
spread of these interpreters across each of the HMCTS regions within England
and Wales, this regional breakdown is based on the interpreter’s home postcode,
and so it should be noted that these interpreters may be deployed to any
location across England and Wales.

Region

Number of British Sign Language Interpreters

South East

75

South West

15

London

64

North East

20

North West

73

Wales

24

Midlands

82

In addition to these 353 interpreters available
through Clarion, the Ministry of Justice may make use of additional, locally
sources British Sign Language interpreters on an ‘off contract’ basis, where it
is in the best interests of justice to do so.

The company contracted to provide courtroom
interpreting is investing heavily in technology to improve its performance, its
chief executive has said, after the Leeds-headquartered company failed to hit
its contractual target and complaints surged.

Thebigword took over from Capita
Translation and Interpreting in October last year to provide face-to-face
interpretation and translation (including telephone and video), and translation
and transcription. Latest Ministry of Justice figures show that thebigword
achieved a 97% success rate between January and March this year, a percentage
point short of the contractual requirement.

The company achieved a 98% success rate for
standard language requests. The success rate for rare language requests dropped
from 92% in the first quarter of last year, to 86% in the same period this
year. The success rate for special services requests increased from 93% between
January and March last year, to 'over 99%' a year later.

Larry Gould, chief executive of thebigword, told the Gazette
the company is pleased with the progress it is making, but 'we are constantly
reviewing our performance to identify ways to deliver the best possible
service. We are investing in technology and our staff to improve our
performance and ensure the effective and efficient use of taxpayers' money'.

The company has begun piloting a mobile phone
application, which will enable linguists to manage their booking schedules
remotely. The app will detail confirmed bookings and provide an online map with
directions. Linguists will be able to submit timesheets and verify these on the
spot with clients to avoid billing discrepancies. The app can also be used for
telephone interpreting services.

Around 30 linguists are involved in the
project.

Thebigword has also commissioned the
International School of Linguists to provide short, educational videos for
solicitors, barristers and judges to help them work effectively with court
interpreters.

Latest figures show there were 730 complaints
between January and March this year, up by 290 compared with the same period
last year. The ministry points out that the latest complaint rate - just under
2% - is still lower than the 4% complaint rate in the equivalent period under
the old contract.

'Interpreter was late' accounted for 170
complaints. Gould said thebigword 'takes complaints about our services very
seriously and listen carefully to all feedback so we can improve our work with
the Ministry of Justice'. The company has received 'excellent feedback from
judges about the quality of our services,' he added.